Sunday, April 24, 2011

G-d as a Light Bulb

A friend and reader asked me to check out two Zohar (kabbalah book) web sites that he was getting into. (Combined) Zohar and (Frequent) Zohar [actual names avoided] are both sites that present bits of the Holy Zohar…for daily review?

First a side note. Mystical Paths started 7 years ago specifically because of my reaction to Madonna and the kabbalah phenomenon of the time. As I posted in great detail in the past, every one of the organizations teaching and selling kabbalah to the public as an instant life fixing scheme was not only misusing spiritual practices – they were literally creating cult like organizations.

A brief examination of the (Combined) Zohar site found a nice well organized site that’s presenting tidbits of Zohar in the original aramaic for “review”. But it’s not for study or learning. It’s for “scanning”.

Scanning is a key term from the kabbalah cult. Their idea is like this. “The Zohar is holy technology, and by simply seeing [staring at] specific bits you can use it to manipulate the spiritual force of the universe” (for your personal benefit).

The particular tidbit I saw included a preliminary “read or scan” paragraph that was actually a yichudim (a kabbalistic unity prayer) from the Ari z”l. The purpose of such a prayer is to use meditation on specific combinations of names of Hashem to open channels of divine blessing for a specific purpose. A simple form of this is used by Breslev chassidim before many mitzvot (“l’shem yichud kudsha barichu…”) and is included by Chabad chassidim in daily shacharis (morning prayer) before the Baruch Sha’amar tefila.

So we have a holy kabbalistic prayer upon which one is to meditate upon the specific forms of names of Hashem to more easily widen the connection to Hashem…and the instruction is to “glance at it”. No mention (in English) to focus on Hashem…just “scan”.

And the goal is “bring the light”. It’s never connect with Hashem, it’s always “bring the light”. “bring the light of the Zohar to shine all over the world. Be one soul with all the souls that seek and wish the light of the creator to shine over the entire world.” Glance at bits of Zohar and “bring the light”.

The second site is similar but a bit more extensive. It brings pages of the Zohar complete with a Hebrew and English translation. This site was a little harder to tease out as a problem but the same signs are there. The first hint was a request for healing at the top of the site. At Jewish sites we request people pray to G-d to bring a healing to the sick person. This site requests “Please take a moment to meditate and send healing energy to …”.

And in the about the site says “This passage can be scanned or read in sixty seconds or less, just enough time to light the candle of the Zohar in your soul.” Again we have it, not learned or understood or used to connect to G-d. Scanned or quickly read to “light the candle of the Zohar in your soul.”

The key to understanding the kabbalah cults is this quote from the site, “the Zohar is a divine tool”. The Zohar is removed from it’s connection to G-d, to Torah, to the Jewish people, to the Holy Land and is just considered a “divine tool”. A magical technology to plug into the “light of creation”.

Kabbalah and the Zohar are the 3rd leg of a stool for stepping up and completing the connection to Hashem. The first leg is Torah. The second leg is halacha (Jewish law) and mitzvot (practical actions commanded by G-d). The 3rd leg, the mystical, can ONLY be utilized when the first two legs are in place.

Otherwise the connection created is false and any and all “light” accessed is immediately redirected to the Klipah, to the Other Side.

My friend, who was volunteering to help them out, asked me what to say to them in kind departure. This is what I recommended…

“As a Jew, I worship and have a connection with the Holy One, Blessed Be He as a Father, a Master, a King, God, and Creator. I see no reason to limit my relationship with the Master of the Universe to that of a light bulb and electrical socket."

Love and Light, [kabbalah cult sign off] Reb Akiva

P.S. What if you’re a non-Jew? Non-Jews may also learn (some) Torah and also have the 7 commandments of Noah. A non-Jew may build a kosher connection to Hashem, and a place in the world to come is open to everyone.

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